The facts used in the Corn Farmers Coalition ads come from two primary sources, the United States Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service and from the Field to Market National Report.
* America's corn farmers exported $6.3 billion worth of corn last year, one of the few U.S. products with a trade surplus (USDA)
* 99% of all corn farms in America are family owned (USDA)
* Family farmers grow 90% of America's corn (USDA)
* America's innovative family farmers have produced the 11 largest crops in US history over the last 11 years.
* Family corn farmers can plant up to 43 percent of the nation's crop – an area bigger than New York State – in a single day, thanks to advances in machinery technology.
* America's sustainability-minded family corn farmers have planted 1.2 million miles of conservation buffer strips to protect the soil and improve water quality.
* America's corn farmers have reduced soil erosion 67% by using innovative conservation methods (Field to Market)
* Energy used to grow a bushel of corn decreased 43% thanks to family farmers' use of innovative technology (Field to Market)
* America's corn farmers grow 33% of world corn exports by employing advanced technology. (USDA)
* Using cutting edge technological advances in farming, the land required to grow a bushel of corn has decreased by 30%. (Field to Market)
* Corn farmers have reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 36% thanks to new technological advances in farming practices (Field to Market)
* Farmers grow 87% more corn per ounce of fertilizer thanks to innovative farming practices (USDA)
* Due to technological know-how, America's corn farmers are the most productive in the world, growing 15% more corn per acre than any other nation, world-wide. (USDA)
Field to Market
Field To Market is a diverse alliance working to create opportunities across the agricultural supply chain for continuous improvements in productivity, environmental quality, and human well-being. The group provides collaborative leadership that is engaged in industry-wide dialogue, grounded in science, and open to the full range of technology choices. Their numbers are generated using data from USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service, National Resources Conservation Service and major universities.
Their information is peer reviewed by multiple sources to validate the science. You can learn more about the exciting advance in corn production here.
Peer Reviewers of the report included:
Kenneth Cassman, University of Nebraska, Lincoln
Marlin Eve, USDA Climate Change Program Office
Alan Franzluebbers, USDA, Agricultural Research Service
Ralph Heimlich, Agricultural Conservation Economics (ACE)
Douglas Karlen, USDA, Agricultural Research Service
Chad Lee, University of Kentucky
John McGuire, Simplified Technology Services, LLC.
Randall Mutters, University of California
Barry Ward, Ohio State University
